Elijah Watt Sells was a founding partner in Haskins & Sells, a predecessor to Deloitte & Touche.
Sells was born on March 1, 1858 in Muscatine, Iowa to Elijah and Isabel Sells. He attended local public schools and briefly attended Baker University. Although he did not receive a degree, Baker University later awarded him an honorary degree.[1] At age 16, Sells went to work for the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad and was quickly promoted. After working for several railroads, Sells was appointed to the Dockery Commission with his future business partner, Charles Waldo Haskins.
In 1884, Sells married Mabel Graveson. They had two children. In 1895, Sells and Haskins formed Haskins & Sells, which was the first major accounting firm formed by American (rather than British) accountants. Sells became one of the first New York State certified public accountants in 1896 and then the firm's senior partner after Haskin's death in 1903.[2] Sells died on March 19, 1924 at the age of 66.
In 1923, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) created the Elijah Watt Sells award program. This award recognizes outstanding performance on the Uniform CPA Examination. Each year, the award is given to the ten candidates with the highest scores on all four of the test's sections.